


Can Your Heartbeat Rise a Little?

by wavesonhand



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Sharing a Bed, homophobia? dont know her, nothing nsfw happens though, probably really ooc, the lan fan / winry is pretty minor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-04-01 08:57:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13994877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wavesonhand/pseuds/wavesonhand
Summary: “Hey you know, some of us are trying to-“ In the middle of talking, the guy lifted his head to look at him and Ed froze.Oh no, he’s hot.aka the highschool au no one asked forEDIT 7/14/18: this fic is currently on an indefinite hiatus. i might come back to it in the future, but for now don’t expect any updates.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> im already writing another chapter for this but i just wanted to get this part out lol. there isn't much pining in this part and its mostly just to establish how they all become friends. also im not that great at writing but the lack of edling fics, especially ones with pining, was annoying so i took matters into my own hands.
> 
>  
> 
> oh yeah and some background information:  
> Ed, Ling, Winry, and Lan Fan are in their sophomore year and Al is in his freshman year!
> 
>  
> 
> also the title is from Would You Be So Kind by dodie

Ed was seriously considering punching the guy sitting behind him right now. He kept whining to himself about how he was absolutely _starving_ and how he forgot to bring a lunch today. _It’s only third period how hungry could you be?_ Ed wondered to himself. Ed couldn’t even pay attention to the lesson because the guy’s whining was all that was reaching his ears. He finally had enough of it and turned around to confront the guy.

 

“Hey you know, some of us are trying to-“ In the middle of talking, the guy lifted his head to look at him and Ed froze. _Oh no, he’s hot._ How had Ed never noticed this guy before? 

 

“What are some of us trying to do?” The impossibly attractive guy said. Ed realized he’d been staring and shook his head a bit to snap out of it.

 

“I was saying that some of us are actually trying to learn here!” Ed whispered harshly, “So could you please shut up?”

 

“Hmm… I don’t think I will.” He said with a smug smile on his face

 

Ed sighed, “If I give you food will you shut up?”

 

Attractive-guy immediately lit up “You know what, I think I will.”

 

Ed let out a sigh of relief and dug through his backpack to find the protein bar he had packed earlier that morning. “Here” He said, handing the bar over, then turning back around to listen to the teacher. And surprisingly, he didn’t hear any whining for the rest of the class.

 

———

 

 **Ling** : ASLKNDLWKDFNDKNC

 **Ling** : LAN FAN HOLY FUCK

 **Lan Fan** : ya? what is is?

 **Ling** : YOU KNOW THAT RLY CUTE GUY THAT SITS IN FRONT OF ME IN BIO?

 **Ling** : THE ONE W THE GOLD HAIR

 **Lan Fan** : yeah the guy you never fucking shut up about

 **Ling** : OK RUDE BUT

 **Ling:** HE TALKED TO ME TODAYYY

 **Lan Fan:** wait rly?

 **Ling** : I MEAN HE BASICALLY JUST TOLD ME TO SHUT UP BUT

 **Lan Fan** : that seems about right.

 **Ling:** SHUT UP HE GAVE ME FOOD UNLIKE YOU!!

 **Lan Fan** : youve gotta start packing your own lunches man it isnt my fault i forgot to bring you extra food today

 **Ling:** :(

 **Ling:** anyways did i mention how pretty his eyes are

 **Ling:** because holy FUCK are they pretty

 **Ling:** theyre like??? gold?? just like his hair??

 **Lan Fan:** ugh stop being so sappy

 **Ling:** fine how about you tell me more about that cute girl in your math class :))

 **Lan Fan:** hmm i dont think i will

 **Ling:** :(

 

———

 

Ling and Lan Fan were having a fairly pleasant conversation while walking to the spot they normally eat lunch at when Ling happened to spot a certain blond haired boy walking into a hallway with a girl. Without saying a word Ling grabbed Lan Fan’s arm and started dragging her in the direction of the hallway he had just seen the two blondes walk into.

 

“Hey what the hell Ling?”

 

“I just saw the cute guy from bio go down this hallway and I want to thank him” Ling explained.

 

“Ugh fine but after you thank him we’re going to sit at our table, you know I don’t feel comfortable talking with people I don’t know” Lan Fan said.

 

“Yeah, I know”

 

After checking a few classrooms Ling found an almost empty one except for three blond kids eating lunch at the desks.

 

“You guys get a whole classroom to yourself? No fair!” Ling exclaimed.

 

All three of the bondes startled and looked to see who had said that. Ling noticed that one of them looked similar to the guy from his biology class and assumed they were related.

 

“What the fuck?” Ling’s blond (is that what he’s calling him now?) said.

 

“Oh right!” Ling walked over to his blond “I saw you walking by and I wanted to thank you for giving me that protein bar earlier today, and I also wanted to introduce myself! My name is Ling.” Ling said, holding his hand out for the blond to shake.

 

“Oh uh, you’re welcome I guess? And my name’s Edward, but most people just call me Ed.” He said, shaking Ling’s hand.

 

“Alright well i should prob-” Ling was about to say that he should be leaving when Lan Fan interrupted him.

 

“Hey you’re in my math class right?” she asked, looking at the blond girl, and Ling noticed a light blush on her face. Huh.   _This must be the cute girl from her math class._ Ling thought to himself.

 

The blond girl seemed taken aback for a second befre answering “Yeah, why do you ask?”

 

“Well i was having some trouble on this problem and I was wondering if you could help me?” Lan Fan asked. And Ling knew that this was _definitely_ the girl Lan Fan had a crush on. Math was Lan Fan’s best subject and there were few things she needed help on.

 

“Oh yeah of course! Here, you can sit in the desk next to mine and we can work through it together.” The blond girl said, smiling “And my Name’s Winry by the way.”

 

“Lan Fan” She said before sitting down and starting a conversation with Winry.

 

“Well I guess I’m eating with you guys today” Ling said before sitting down in the seat next to Ed that wasn’t occupied.

 

The other boy sitting next to Ed leaned over and introduced himself “I’m Ed’s little brother, Alphonse, by the way! But I go by Al”

 

Ling nodded. “Nice to meet you Al.” After a couple of fairly awkward minuted between the three boys, Ling spoke up “So how come you guys get to eat in here?”

 

“Oh, well it’s sort of a long story but I guess you could say that me and Ed are family friends with Mrs. Curtis! And she prefers to eat her lunch with other staff members so we get her room to ourselves during lunch.” Al answered. After that, an easy conversation ensued between the three of them, and after Winry and Lan Fan finished the problem, they joined in as well. Over all it was quite enjoyable.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok this fic is going is a way different direction than I originally planned and is also going to be a lot longer than original planned. Right now I’m thinking it’s going to be about four chapters?? Also I was going to post this tomorrow but then I was like,, nah. And just a heads up that the next chapter might not be up for a while because although I have about half of it done school starts again tomorrow so I’ll have less time to write ://

 

After that day, the group became fast friends. And after a couple months, Ed had found himself staying after school with Ling to finish a project they were working on in class. Unfortunately for them, it had started pouring outside. And even more unfortunately for the both of them, neither had remembered to bring an umbrella.

  
“Ugh I hate the rain, it makes my stumps ache and its always a pain to get the water out of my prosthetics.” Ed said.

“You know, I could probably get one one of my siblings to drive you home so you don’t have to walk.” Ling offered.

Ed froze up a bit “Thank you for the offer, but no, I can just walk.”

Ling frowned “I thought you said the water was hard to get out your prosthetics?”

Ed started messing with the sleeves of his red hoodie, suddenly feeling too vulnerable “Maybe I just prefer to walk home.” he said, not looking at Ling.

Ling sighed “Ok I can see you’re uncomfortable right now, so I’m not going to make you tell me what’s wrong, but I’m also not going to leave you to walk home by yourself. We’re either walking together now, or waiting here for the storm to pass.”

Ed may have glared at him, but part of him felt warm thinking of the fact that Ling would rather make sure Ed was fine than leave him and get home faster and dryer. “Let's just wait here for the storm to pass. It can’t last that long, right?” Ling gave him a soft smile, and for reasons Ed couldn’t explain, his heart did a little flip.

They decided to work on their homework from other classes, only occasionally talking to ask a question. It was nice. However, they’re both fairly fast workers and they didn’t have much homework that day anyways so by the time they finished not much time had past and the raid didn’t seem to be lightening up anytime soon. However, it turns out that the study rooms in the library are a fantastic place to sit and watch the rain.

Ed and Ling end up sitting of the floor, staring out of the room’s floor to ceiling windows facing most of the campus. It’s soothing, but it’s also cold as hell, and the metal from his prosthetics aren’t exactly helping. Ed started shivering, but a few moments later he felt Ling move closer to him so their sides were pressed up against each other and Ed was about to protest until Ling pulled out a blanket from god knows where and wraps it around the both of them, and _wow Ling is actually pretty warm this is nice. Is he some kind of human radiator? What the fuck. Oh damn this blanket is super soft and so is Ling’s shirt damn he smells really good too what the hell and why is my heart beating so fast-_ Ed snapped himself out of it.

“Wait. Why the fuck do you have a blanket but not an umbrella?”

“I’ll nap in History a lot and I like to nap in comfort.” Was all Ling said.

Ed snorted “That’s such a you thing to do.”

Ling laughed quietly. “Yeah I guess it is.”  
They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Ed spoke up again “My mom died in a car crash when I was six. That’s also how I lost my arm and leg.” Ed refused to look at Ling “I’ve tried to avoid riding in cars as much as possible now.”

Ling didn’t say anything, he just moved his arm to wrap around Ed’s waist in an embrace. And it was nice. Really nice. They didn’t say anything else and Ed could feel the dull patter of the rain lulling him to sleep to he gave in, leaning his head on Ling’s shoulder. The last thing Ed can remember is the overwhelming feeling of being content and the smell of rose and sandalwood.

———

Ling was going to die and the cause of his death would be Edward Elric. He knew he had pulled a risky move essentially cuddling him but he really didn’t expect _this_ result.

Edward Elric, the boy who had threatened to fight Ling on several occasions just for that fact that he was taller than Ed, was peacefully sleeping on his shoulder. His face looked the most relaxed Ling had ever seen it and he was in awe. Edward Elric was _beautiful_. And sure, Ling was already well aware that Ed was attractive before now, but this felt different for some reason. _God, this is so fucking gay_. Ling thought to himself. _Too bad he doesn’t like me back._ He added bitterly. Because sure, there wasn’t any real proof that Ed didn’t like him that way, but there also wasn’t any proof that he _did_ either. And although Ling had originally pursued Ed in hopes of a romantic relationship, he valued their platonic one too much to ruin it with some dumb feelings.

Ling knew he should probably look away from Ed and that it was kind of creepy to just stare at your crush while he’s sleeping, but can you really blame Ling for staring? Who knows when an opportunity like this will happen again? It took Ling awhile to realize it had finally stopped raining, but when he did he couldn’t help but feel a bit remorseful. However, he knew it had to stop at some point, so he gently shook Ed awake.

“Wake up sleepy-head, the rain stopped.”

Ed whined, burrowing his face into Ling’s shoulder and mumbling “five more minutes.”

God, this boy really was trying to kill Ling, wasn’t he? “Nope, come on, I still need to walk you home.”

Ed seemed to finally become aware of his surroundings, shooting off of Ling, a blush on his face. “Shit, sorry Ling, I-”

Ling was admittedly a little hurt by Ed essentially jumping away from Ling, but he cut him off anyways by resting a hand on Ed’s shoulder and telling him, “It’s fine Ed, I’m just glad to see you rest for once.” Ed nodded, calming down. “Alright come on, let’s go.” They left the school and started walking Ed’s house.

“You know, you don’t have to walk me home” Ed said.

“Yeah I know I don’t have to, but I want to. I like spending time with you.” Ling could not believe he just said that last part out loud.

To Ling’s surprise, Ed responded by saying “I like spending time with you too.” That comment made Ling feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They continued talking while walking and if Ling walked a bit too close to Ed so that their hands and shoulders would occasionally brush together, nobody needed to know. They eventually reached Ed’s house, saying how they’ll see each other tomorrow and parting ways. Ling couldn’t help the smile of his face as he went home.

———

As soon as Ed walked into his room he collapsed face first onto his bed letting out a loud groan. He couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. He had cuddled with Ling. And he had liked it. In fact, he had liked it probably too much. Ed was blushing just thinking about it. _What’s wrong with me it’s not like I have a crush-  
Wait.  
Oh.  
**Oh**.  
Holy fuck I have a crush on Ling_. Ed grabbed a pillow and let out a scream. What the fuck? _I mean he’s attractive and all but crush of all things?_  
  
Ed suddenly heard a knock at his door. “Brother? Are you ok? I thought I heard you scream.” Ed just mumbled incoherently into his pillow. “I’m coming in Ed.” Al opened the door and sat beside Ed on the bed and asked in a softer tone, “Are you ok Ed?”

“Mph.”

“Come on Ed, I need you to talk to me.”

Ed rolled over on his back and contemplated telling Al, then decided if he could’t trust Al then he couldn’t trust anybody with this. “I think I have a crush on Ling.” Ed said quietly, putting his hands over his face so he wouldn’t have to look at Al.

A beat of silence passed before Al spoke up “Are you just now realizing this?”

Ed took his hands off his face “What?”

“I just mean that, well, I thought that you already had a crush on him? It’s just that you look at him the same way you used to look at winry and-”  
Ed had stopped paying attention. How long have I liked Ling for? Ed thought back and sure enough, he found that he had had this crush for months. “Jesus Christ.” Ed whispered to himself.

“Huh? What’d you say?” Al asked

“Nothing, just- I can’t believe I never noticed before?” Ed answered.

“Well, you usually aren’t too great with feelings.” Al said with a laugh.

Ed smiled, “Yeah I guess you’re right about that.”

They stayed silent for a few moments before Al asked for some help on his homework and from their the night passed uneventfully. But that night Ed dreamt about strong arms holding him and the color yellow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter should include one of my fav troups so look forward to that I guess lmao (this fic has become so self indulgent tbh) Anyway I hope you like it!! And kudos/comments are much appreciated!! (also let me know if I made any spelling/ grammar mistakes


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes sorry i haven't updated in so long adlknsd i'm not really happy with this chapter and it was originally going to be a lot longer but i felt like its been too long since i updated so you get this now

“Lan Fan you will not believe what happened” Ling said sitting down in the desk next to Lan Fan.

“Does it have something to do with a certain blond with the name of Edward?”

“How’d you know?”

“I’m good at guessing.”

“Ok well you know how yesterday me and Ed stayed after school to finish that project?” Lan Fan nodded. “Well some really gay shit happened.”

“Oh my god did you finally tell him you like him?”

“Of course I didn’t! You know I don’t want to risk-”

“-ruining your friendship. I know.” Lan Fan interrupted. “Well if it wasn’t that then what did happen?” Ling told her what happened, leaving out the part where Ed told him about his mom and how he lost his limbs, thinking that Ed probably wouldn’t appreciate Ling talking about something so personal. “Damn, that is pretty gay, but are you sure he doesn’t like you back?”

“I mean when he woke up he seemed pretty freaked out that he had fallen asleep on me? Which really doesn’t support the idea that he could like me back. Besides, I really doubt that someone like him would have a crush on me.” Ling sighed.

“Whatever, but I really think-” Lan Fan was cut off when their teacher started the lesson.

 

———

 

“Winry I’m fucked” Ed announced before letting his head slam on the table in front of him. Ed had gone over to Winry’s house to study for their test in history (though they both knew they weren’t going to get much studying done).

“Oh? And why’s that?” Winry asked.

“I have a crush on Ling.” Ed mumbled to the table.

“Yeah I kind of figured.” Winry responded. 

Ed sat straight up “Seriously? You too? How did you and Al both figure out I liked him before I did?” Winry shrugged and took a bite of her sandwich. “Ugh whatever. Anyways, how’s that plan to seduce Lan Fan going?”

“Oh my god please don’t call it seducing. I just want to ask her out.”

“And _then_ seduce her.” Ed joked. Winry punched him in the arm. “Okay fine, no seducing.”

“Well what about you? Are you going to try to _seduce_ Ling?”

“Ok now I really take back the whole seducing thing.” Ed laughed. “But I don't know Winry, I really doubt that he’d like me back. I mean, he’s tall and handsome and has great hair and I just want to kiss his stupid face.”

“Yeah I feel the same about Lan Fan. Like, she’s so pretty? It’s not fair and I just want to hold her hand and kiss her and just- ugh. Crushes suck.”

“Tell me about it.”

 

———

 

Ed had started paying  _way_  too much attention to what he did around Ling, trying to hide his stupid crush on the boy. But sometimes it was hard. Especially when Ed happened to say something that made Ling laugh and all Ed could think about was how it would feel to kiss Ling while he was smiling. Or when they were walking together and their hands would brush and Ed would have to push down the temptation to just reach out and intertwine their hands.  _Stupid gay thoughts._

 

———

 **Winry:** hey guys i just found a box of disney movies and granny said i could have a few friends sleep over so i was thinking we could have a movie night at my house! Just a heads up though, i only have one spare mattress so some of us might have to share beds

 **Al:** that sounds like fun!!! me and ed should b able 2 go but ill check w our dad :3

 **Winry:** great!

 **Lan Fan:** i can go  <3

 **Ling:** do you have aladdin?

 **Winry:** yup!

 **Ling:** im going

 **Ed:** me and al can go

 **Winry:** yay!! I cant wait to see you guys!! you can come over anytime after 6 :)

 **Winry:** also bring lots of pillows and blankets!

 

———

Ed and Al were the first to arrive. “So what movies do you have?” Ed asked.

“Well let’s see… I’ve got the Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Cinderella, Peter Pan, the Lion King, and a bunch more but I thought we could start with those.”

“Sounds good to me!” Said Ed, plopping down at the foot of Winry’s bed to face the T.V. “So, you planning on sharing your bed with a certain girl?”

Winry’s whole face flushed “Shut up Ed!” Winry yelled, throwing a pillow at Ed.

“Ow! At least I didn't ask if you were seducing her.”

 "Wait hold on Winry is trying to seduce Lan Fan?" 

"No! I'm just-"

Winry was cut short by Ling barging into the room “Prince charming has arrived!”

Ed threw a pillow at Ling “Shut the fuck up.” There was no real malice behind the words though.

Ling scoffed and feigned insult “How rude of you to insult your prince!”

Everyone laughed and Ling walked over to sit next to Ed crisscrossed so that Ling’s knee was brushing Ed’s thigh. Ed’s heart skipped a beat. _God this is such a stupid thing to get flustered over._

Soon enough Lan Fan showed up and they all squished together on the floor for a “cuddle party” as Winry called it. Ed was on the end leaning on Winry, Lan Fan was in between Winry’s legs while Winry played with her hair, Ed was pressed up against Winry and _Ling was laying his head in Ed’s lap._ Now, it didn’t start this way of course, but about half way through Aladdin Ling had migrated down so he was using Ed’s thighs as a pillow because “It’s more comfortable this way, Ed.” And Ed’s heart had been beating a mile a minute and he couldn't even focus on the movie because all he could think about was how Ling’s hair was tickling his thighs and how he could feel Ling’s breath on his knee. 

And boy did Ed’s fingers itch to run through Ling’s silky hair, and suddenly, as if his fingers had acted on their own - the _traitors_ \- Ed found his hands entangled in Ling’s hair. Ed felt like he was stuck in a trance. _How is his hair so soft? Does he use some kind of special hair products? This has to be witchcraft. What-_ Ed was suddenly broken out of his train of thought when Ling made a sound that Ed could only describe as a purr. Realizing how weird this must be for Ling, Ed quickly removed his hand from Ling’s hair and moved it to play with the blanket he was sitting on instead. However, after Ed did this Ling _Whined_ and turned so he was facing up.

“Why’d you stop? ‘Felt good.” Ling mumbled.

Ed really hoped Ling couldn’t see the blush that Ed knew was on his face. “Um. I can keep doing it? If you want?” Ed said, in a voice higher than he would have liked.

“Yes please.” Ling said before rolling back over to face the screen.

When Ed put his hand back into Ling’s hair, he could more feel than hear the content sigh that left Ling’s lips. Ed looked over and saw Winry giving him a knowing look. Ed just shifted his eyes back to the T.V.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always let me know what you think and tell me if i made any spelling/grammar mistakes :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long :// im gonna be honest ive kind of lost inspiration for this fic but i know how annoying incomplete fics are so im still planning on finishing this but it just might take awhile

By the time they got to the Lion King, they could barely keep their eyes open, so they agreed that they should at least get into bed before they ended up passing out in an uncomfortable position. Winry had already dragged the spare mattress in earlier so thankfully they didn’t have to worry about trying to deal with that while half asleep. However, they still needed to decide who got to use the beds and who would sleep on the floor. 

“Well I get my bed, obviously” Winry said “and there’s no way I’m sharing it with any of you boys-”

“Yeah that’s understandable” Al said. 

“But Lan Fan if you want we can share my bed?” Winry’s voice rose an octave near the end of her sentence. 

“Y- yeah sure!” Lan Fan said.

“Alright cool! Great! Um…”

Ed could tell that Winry was struggling to find something to say so he blurted out “So! Who gets the mattress?”

There was a pause until Ed and Ling shouted at the exact same time “Dibs!”

“Dibs!” Al said a second too late “Damn it! Fine I guess I’ll sleep on the floor then.”

Ed was suddenly hit with the realization that _holy shit I’m going to share a bed with Ling oh my god what if he thinks it’s weird oh god oh god o-_

Ed was snapped out of his gay panic when he heard Ling speak up “Well it looks like me and Ed are sharing the bed” Ling then proceeded to fall face first onto the mattress.

Ed let out a snort before grabbing a pillow to hit Ling with “Hey move over tall ass you’re hogging the whole bed”

“Nope this bed is mine now!” Ling proclaimed before spreading his arms and legs out to take up more space.

“Ugh, you’re the worst” Ed said, sitting down on a part of the bed that wasn’t taken over by Ling. Ed then decided that there was no way he was getting up again so he may as well take off his prosthetics.

“Oh yeah, I should probably take mine off too” Lan Fan said before removing her prosthetic arm.

“We should do something.” Al spoke up.

“I thought we were all going to go to bed?” Lan Fan asked.

“Yeah but I think we all knew we weren’t actually going to sleep.” Winry countered.

“Fair enough” Lan Fan said.

“We could play truth or dare?” Ling suggested.

“Oh that sounds fun!” Winry said.

“Alright sure why not?” Ed added.

“So who wants to go first?” Ling asks, sitting up.

“I can.” Al said. “Hm… Winry! Truth or dare?”

“Dare i guess.”

“I dare you to lick your foot.”

“Ew what the hell? I don’t want to do that!”

“Oh come on Winry! It isn’t even that bad. One time Al dared me to lick the sidewalk.” Ed said.

“Ok no, you asked me if I dared you to lick it, I said no, and then you licked it anyways and got sick for a week.”

Ling burst out laughing “Why the hell did you want to lick the sidewalk?”

“I didn’t! Al dared me to!”

“I really didn’t”

“Ugh, whatever. Just do your stupid dare Winry.”

“Damn it I was hoping you would forget.” Winry said, but completed the dare. “Alright, my turn.” She looked around the room trying to decide who to ask before her eyes landed on Ed. “Ed, truth or dare?”

Ed knew if he did truth she would probably make him say some embarrassing shit and with her knowing he liked Ling there was no way he was letting her give him a truth. “Dare”

Winry smiled. “I dare you to stick a hot cheeto up your nose and leave it there for two minutes.”

Ed’s face screwed up in disgust “Seriously?” Winry nodded. “Ugh fine. Someone hand me a cheeto and get a timer ready.”

 

———

 

They continued playing like that for awhile. Some of the highlights were Ling eating a sheet of paper, Lan Fan sniffing Ed’s armpit and then describing it to the rest of the group, and Al calling Pizza Hut to ask if they had tacos. However, as it got later, they shifted to asking more truths due to none of them wanting to actually do anything.

“Ling, truth or dare?” Lan Fan asked.

“Truth.”

“What’s your type?”

Ling glared at her “Seriously?” Ling was going to kill her if she actually made him describe his type (which was basically just Ed) while laying next to his crush, close enough that their sides would brush together.

Lan Fan shrugged, but Ling could see the mischievous glint in her eyes “Couldn’t think of anything else.”

Ling shot her another glare before deciding to just get it over with “Well I guess I kinda have a thing for blondes.” Ling said. Lan Fan gestured for him to go on. “And I’d like a guy who could definitely kick my ass.”

Ed snorted “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were describing me”

Ling stiffened _oh god he’s going to figure out I like him oh no what do I do just say something oh my god_ “Oh please, I could kick your ass any day” yep, perfect coverup.

Seconds after saying that though a pillow slammed down on his face “There, I just kicked your ass.” Ed announced proudly.

“I guess you definitely qualify as Lings type then.” Winry sickered

“Shut up!” Ed snapped, and it was hard to tell with the dim lighting, but Ling swore he could see a dusting of pink across Ed’s face.

“Hey isn’t it Lings turn to ask a question?” Al cut in. Ling had never loved the younger Elric more than in that moment.

“It sure is! Hm… Winry, truth or dare?” And then the game continued on without any more mentions of crushes. Eventually, they all started passing out until Ling figured he was the only one still awake. He was laying on his side facing Ed and Ling couldn’t help the skip of his heart rate when Ed shifted in his sleep to move closer to him. He really did look beautiful while asleep.

“You really like my brother don’t you?”

Ling bolted up. So he wasn’t the only one still awake. “I don’t know what you’re talking about” Ling whispered, so as not to disturb the people who were sleeping.

“I’ve seen the way you look at him. You’re not that subtle.” Ling stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. “How long have you liked him?”

Ling sighed and thought _well this may as well just happen_ before laying back down and answering Al “I mean I’ve found him attractive since like, the beginning of the year but I guess I _really_ started to like him after me and Lan Fan started sitting with you guys.” Ling brought his hands up to his face “Ugh I can't believe I’m talking about my crush to my crush’s _brother_.”

Al laughed softly “Yeah sorry about” there was a pause “So are you going to ask him out or just keep ignoring your feelings?”

“What do you think?”

“Yeah I don’t really know why I bothered to ask.” Al said “But just so you know I think that you’d have a pretty good shot if you did decide to act on your feelings.”

Ling felt his heart skip a beat “Wait so does this mean-”

“You know it's pretty late we should probably go to sleep.”

“Wait hold on Al just explain wh-”

“Wow I can feel myself drifting off to sleep already~"  
Ling sighed and accepted that Al probably wouldn’t ever elaborate on what he had said. Does he think Ed likes him back? Does he _know_ Ed likes him back? Even the thought of Ed returning his feelings made Ling feel warm inside. Maybe he actually had a chance. Ling turned over so he was facing Ed again. Some of his hair had fallen into his mouth and honestly it was kind of gross, but Ling couldn’t help but smile to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always let me know what you think and tell me if i made any grammar/spelling mistakes!

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you like this so far!! also please comment and tell me what you think (or if i made any spelling/grammar mistakes) also the next chapter is going to have plenty of pining so you can look forward to that


End file.
